Everything Is Dangerous / Never Give Up, Never Surrender

[filkertom]

Lessee -- we've got the Conficker Worm, Chase more than doubling its minimum credit card payment, and a recall of pistachios. Home prices have dropped 19% since last year, and the new CEO of General Motors says that the restructuring will likely cause more plant closures.

On the other hand, Walgreen's is going to have in-store clinics providing some health care free for the unemployed and uninsured, at least through the end of the year. And the people in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota are determined not to let the Red River win.

How are things going for you right now? Obviously you don't have to do into detail if you don't want to. I guess I just wanted to remind everybody that it may suck, and it may suck for awhile, but you're not alone. No matter how alone you may feel, you're never alone.

Hugs to all of you.

Comments

[kilbia.livejournal.com]

I'm very, very sleepy, but at least half of that is my own fault, so trying not to grumble too loudly. Or snore. =)

Attitude of gratitude

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Pretty good actually. Family business took a small dip but bouncing back. Nepotism is good but sheer brute competence is better. Refinancing my house after only what, 8 months, on account of the plummeting interest rates. Health good, weather good. Actually, my worst issue right now is "survivor guilt" because I'm not jobless nor homeless like so many right now. Which means I am obligated to buy more filk albums etc. to support my friends.

Re: Attitude of gratitude

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Actually, my worst issue right now is "survivor guilt" because I'm not jobless nor homeless like so many right now.

Forgive me, but I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

Seriously, my job is good (and secure), Dale's job kinda sucks (but it always has, and it's very secure), we're in good shape financially, Dale's vacation starts next week and mine the week after, and in general life is treating us pretty well.

And I'm trying to toss money at problems where it'll help.

Re: Attitude of gratitude

[realinterrobang.livejournal.com]

I'm having survivor guilt here too. My job seems stable and secure (if only they would give me consistent days on which to work!), my small investment has actually made money (let's hear it for being risk-averse), and even though I'm not saving as much as I'd like, I'm still saving. I've still got a job and I'm not homeless. Let's hear it for 2001 going away and never coming back!

Other than another bloody sinus infection, I'm doing all right. Sinus infections suck, though.

Re: Attitude of gratitude

[hyrkanian.livejournal.com]

Actually, my worst issue right now is "survivor guilt" because I'm not jobless nor homeless like so many right now.


+1

Greg's survived three brutal, dirty, slimy rounds of layoffs at his company just in the past two months. I'm very grateful he still has a job, we have a house and savings and even if he were to be "selected to participate in a resource action" we'd still be fine and possibly better off. But at least 20,000 people have been "notified of a chance in status" since the middle of January (this latest round even "eliminated positions" overseas so even the outsourcing was cut. Some of the Shanghai team I met and kind of sort of know from the month we spent there)... It makes me angry and sad and depressed that so many families had their lives ripped apart by a company that is not only not losing money, but making money hand over slimy fist.

Oh Noes!

[capplor.livejournal.com]

We're flying to Texas today, for a wedding. Free digs in a luxury resort for the week are included.

Sometimes you win one.

[boy-pastiche.livejournal.com]

let's see... 2 jobless adults, 1 kid living with grand/parents, grand/mother of same in hospital for over a week, bad. Community activism and recognition... good.

Hugs to you, too, kind sir.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

I went to an H&R Block to do my taxes. Not only did I have to wait 15 minutes but they guy who did them was SLOW. Reading, typing, rereading, fixing typos, etc. I just like having my taxes done professionally and it didn't happen this time. I think I'll have to check the numbers to be sure the raw data is accurate. At least if it was, I'll get a great refund, but I don't want to count on it just yet.

Also I'm visiting a client today. My boss said to wear a suit. That's not a big issue. The problem is that my dress pants don't fit anymore so I had to wear my usual pants and hope no one notices.

A piece of good news is that I wrote a quick program for Filk Discography Wiki (http://filk.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page) that will list the mp3s in a folder in wiki-code. That will save me a lot of time from having to copy/paste/edit each song into the page. I just wish I did it sooner before most of my albums were already entered.

[hms42]

contact me about this. I will contribute LOTS of data.

my first name at panix dot com


Harold S.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I'm a state government employee with 18 years service. I'm not worried about my own job (much) but who knows, we may end up with furloughs or being told not to work one day each pay period, which is basically a 10% pay cut (though that's obviously better than a 100% pay cut, and I'd rather do that than see a lot of co-workers get laid off). My husband runs a used-book business on Amazon out of our house, and the recession has hit him hard (note, he started doing this 4+ years ago; before that he'd been unemployed for 3 years after being laid off from a job with a small IT business). We're lucky that we're not in danger of losing our house, but I know plenty of people are probably close to the edge on that. I know a fair number of people who could be in deep trouble if they didn't get a few paychecks.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

As another state employee (albeit with only 5 years in)I feel better than many, but not completely safe. Our governor* managed to get a bill passed that essentially gives him the right to ignore civil service rules entirely until the end of his term in office. We've been through a round of buyouts, and now we're mostly eliminating a lot of vacant positions, but that could change. Furloughs etc.. as you describe are being kept on the plate too.



*Hey Phil, I want my damn vote back.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I need that reminder sometimes. *hughugs*

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you have an idea for an album - the "It Could be Worse" CD where you pick up all our spirits with a laugh.

[sdelmonte]

I expect to take a small pay cut of some sort, but we are reasonably good shape overall. There is something to be said for frugality even in flush times.

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

My life sucks. I have had one day of temp work since June 2008, NOBODY is buying either my solo CD or my band's CD (Merry Measure), I have to live in the spare room of a friend who is not charging me rent, can't get a job interview to save my life, I have diabetes, haven't been able to afford to see a dentist since 2003 (and THAT was for an extraction), and let's not even talk about my so-called-social-life. But it could be much worse. I know rather a lot of people for whom it is.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Hanging on by the skin of my teeth, just barely.
Not quite ready to say "fuck it", hoist the black flag and start slitting throats yet.

[hyrkanian.livejournal.com]

My husband's cousin and her husband live in the Red River Valley, and they've been out on sandbagging detail with everyone else old enough to hold a bag or shovel sand. They live in a basement apartment, so they've had everything of value they can pack up out of there for several days.

Thanks for the link, hadn't read that one yet.

[phillip2637.livejournal.com]

"Everything Is Dangerous"

OK, that just caused a mutated ear-worm. :-)

Everything is dangerous...in its own way
Like a starry summer night....

But to answer your question, I have Friday/Monday vacation days coming up to wrap around a FKO sandwich, so reality can take a hike for now.

Status

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

I'm still working (7 years at same job now - a record), still have the same apartment, SFFilk is a bit slow, but that's the economy. My health is OK, though I found out I have a hiatal hernia. Social life is minimal to non-existent.

[capt-video.livejournal.com]

Doing alright, despite everything. I'm out of work, but so are 5.7 million other Americans, so at least I'm not alone. I can collect unemployment for a while (I paid into the system for 20+ years without a claim until now).

The husband is back to work after his surgery, and the insurance paid for most of it (still getting some big bills, but we're going to end up paying around $1500 out-of-pocket out of around $41,000, and everyone has been great about working with us to set up payment plans).

Most important, the surgery ended with best case scenario! (Best case: all function back in his hands. Worst case: complete paralysis from the neck down... words you do not want to hear in the same sentence: "spinal damage" and "Christopher Reeves").

So, we're cutting back, I'm being very domestic (time to cook! Also, the kitchen has never been this clean) and I'm getting some projects done so that we can finally move (refinishing/repainting several pieces of furniture, learning to cane so that I can finally finish that chair...)

I figure there's plenty of people worse off than us, and I've got family and friends to call on for help and support. Family and friends makes me richer than Midas!

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

In my world, things are surprisingly stable. My preferred credit card payment has been "all of it," losing 19% of roughly $100,000 isn't that big a number, and I wasn't planning on selling my shoebox anyhow. (400 square feet is a big shoebox, but it's my shoebox.)

My only concern is, when everybody else is tightening their belts, and the articles on trimming expenses are full of things I was doing already, does that mean I'm ahead of the curve, or does that mean I'm in trouble if I have to trim expenses?

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

I'm hanging in better than I have a right to be...am not in danger of losing my job, am in good health, just got a clean bill from the dentist, and have only a couple hundred dollars debt on my credit card. I have friends who love me, music to share, a vinyl record collection to care for, and I've actually been having fun looking for ways to eat healthier, save money, and be greener.

So whenever crap does happen (and it always does) and I get the urge to complain, I just remind myself of the above.

Here's to luck holding and to coming out of the wilderness.

[eoywin.livejournal.com]

Things have been rough - I got laid off three months ago on the day before I was due to go back after materity leave. I've been looking but there aren't any jobs :(

[emiofbrie.livejournal.com]

Basically I have a (part-time) job because I got lucky. My current employer is Milla's former one, and she suggested me to them.

And I have a roof over my head because I'm lucky to have such a good friend, and partner, in Tak :)

[kshandra]

Back from laurellady's funeral (which was a fascinating glimpse into a belief structure not my own). We couldn't strictly afford the trip, but my being unemployed meant only one of us had to arrange the time off, so it was easier to do from a logistical standpoint. And had we not made it happen, none of isomeme's blood relatives would have been there, so I'm glad we did.

On the up side, it was a trip to LA, which is always fun - and we took a new route for the drive down, which was even better.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Life is good. I've been able to help several of the people for whom it has sucked (including yourself, kind sir), sharing the wealth and having fun... and I intend to keep doing that as long as I can. No guilt here... just pretty extreme pleasure at being the one doing the helping at long last.

No matter how alone you may feel, you're never alone.

Not in this community, anyway... and at least one other I'm in as well. It's a damn good feeling.

[poltr1]

I'm between jobs once again. :-( Read my LJ for the gory details.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Not too bad.

The GM thing has me twitchy, since I carry GM parts from ware-house to delivery drivers. (I used to be a delivery driver) And, while I get my fuel and safety bonuses, there will be no raises this year.

But I have a Class A CDL and a clean record. I can have work within a week if I'm laid off...and have.

On the plus sides:
There are pink tulips blooming in my yard and the azaleas are all budded up. I had to prune my roses, and am trying to root the cuttings so I can plant them. We planted a blueberry bush and when my royalty check comes, I'm building garden boxes.

My pulpy space opera got accepted and inspiration struck hard on a novel duology. My next release is in final edits and my last release is getting awesome reviews.

I've lost over 8 lbs on Weight Watchers. And the glucosamine helps the joint pain tremendously.

The kids are all passing everything. My husband's school district didn't close this year. We've paid off the cars and my CDL, so the debt load is down.

Life is pretty nice here at Chez Mudd, as long as I keep my run.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

I'm doing a lot better than those poor bastids with a foot of snow on 40 feet of flood!

[archiver-tim.livejournal.com]

Let's see. Water heater finally gave out last Thursday. $500 for a new one at Sears and another $500 for installation, taking the normal $250 install fee and doubling it due to an extra hour and a half of plumbing fixes. Haul-away of the old one was part of the deal, but that was probably a $25 to $50 part of the deal (the old tank goes to recycling instead of direct to land-fill, I hope they get to mine all the iron-oxide from it).
Dental has been at minimum, and I just had to delay the next cleaning an addition 3 months because I just finished paying off the last cleanin and work a couple of months ago.
Coming on 3 years out of work, but since I was a 1099 worker, no unemployment, and so no proof I am unemployed.
Economic downturn spend more money out of my 401k than I did in the last 18 months. So much for staying the course.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

Salary freeze announced today to avoid having to do layoffs. I am one of the lucky ones, I don't depend on getting a raise or bonuses, but I know other co-workers do. All in all, I'd rather have my salary frozen right now than to have to look for another job. But this is not a good sign. Last December, we did not get a million dollar payment we had expected because the client went bankrupt. I have a feeling this salary freeze is in anticipation of that happening again.

[naomi-de-plume.livejournal.com]

Things are okay, some parts are painful, some are just plain *hard* but overall... things are still good enough that I wish I had a kid to spoil and I can afford to help a friend in need. And in today's world, that's pretty damn good.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

About the biggest problem I have right now is being burned out on rehearsals for a play that's opening Friday.

That is to say, thing's ain't too bad.

[sophia9847.livejournal.com]

The university i work at is looking at budget cuts, but my department is safe job-wise because A: we're the library, and will just cut back the book buying for a year or two :-(, and B: it's a public university in a state that has been relatively recession-resistant this round. The worst that could happen to my job is a furlough, and that is extremely unlikely. DH is the only software developer as a company that provides bill payment services via grocery/convenience store kiosks, mostly to low-income folks who need same-day posting of their payments to avoid shutoff. Needless to say, their business is booming. (see survivor's guilt, above). So right now we're continuing to sock money away in savings, buy a few things with our tax refund, and do what we can to help folks who aren't as lucky, and the organizations who assist them. We were where some of you are now in 2002-4, and I hope we NEVER forget what that was like.

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

I'm a State employee and Morris is a retired State employee, so our cashflow is stable if not enormous. We had a healthy winter, though we may be playing badminton with a sore throat bug just now: I got it 2.5 weeks ago, gave it to him last week, and this morning my throat was feeling scratchy again.

On the up side, Spring is sproinging all around here in Arkansas. We've just transitioned from daffodils to dogwoods and redbuds, and the Oak pollen is nearly done with.

[jenrose]

Let's see... job as caregiver for elderly mother in law: Ended due to her death. But, new job within 2 weeks as Auntie to a wee bairn. One of the weirder "Lose Some Win Some" in my life.

On the monetary front: Inheritance: Yay! Stock market sucking half the value out of said inheritance, o.O.

So financially, we own the house we live in and are about to pay off the mortgage on the house we rent out, because that's like a 5 1/2 percent return on the money, and where can you get THAT anymore?

What else... In second life I'm moving from self sufficient to actually profitable, my work has caught the attention of the SL art world and I'm about as busy as I want to be with custom work, which is the stuff I like better. I'm looking at raising my hourly rate incrementally over the next few months until I am earning the equivalent of $20 per hour. If demand is high enough, I will raise it to closer to $40 per hour--which is real world hourly for a graphic designer.

Health wise, dentist? Hah. I keep brushed and flossed and have never had a cavity and the cosmetic work will have to wait.

My older daughter seems to be having a slow-motion meltdown, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it. She's a good kid, but her grades are slipping and I'm concerned. OTOH, if her grades stay slipped, I don't have to worry about her going too far away for college. o.O

My younger daughter is ever the saga, but we've survived 2 1/2 weeks of her 3 week spring break and I haven't killed her yet. Seseme street is teaching her how to count, which is amazing since she barely talks. She is totally in love with Ernie, Elmo and Cookie Monster. I just found a boil this morning on her head. Again. I lanced it, we'll see how it is later today. I have apparently adjusted my expectations where she is concerned, so any time she does any developmental leaps at all I'm blown away. She is still crawling. We have now completed two full years of her crawling on hands and knees. She had a year of rolling and belly crawling before that. I like babies, but having a 35 pound 4-year-old crawling baby is not my idea of a good time. Ah well. Eventually she will either learn to walk or we will put her in a wheelchair.

My health sucks. Maybe it will improve. I've mostly adapted my life to a lower level of function.

Other than my health, I'm better off than the majority.

[popefelix.livejournal.com]

When people ask what I do for a living, I can honestly tell them "I'm in porn."

Also, I have a wonderful girlfriend (who incidentally likes everything of yours she's heard so far) who has children and a husband I like and who like me. I have a wife who loves me more than I probably deserve. :) I also have a brand-new baby niece!

[gelfling-flys.livejournal.com]

How are things for us?

Overall I believe we are well. I am not earning money right now, but I am staying home and finishing our home. When I started adding to our house and farm I had no idea that the economy would totally fail while I was working at home. I need a job soon and I fear that there will not be any in our area. In the past, I have always been able to find a project. I hope that will remain true.

Winter has been really hard. This has nothing to due with the country's economy. We were snowed in for weeks. It has been colder than usual and fire wood as been too wet.The combination has been difficult to live with. The baby was kind enough to be born between two snow storms, so it was possible to get to the hospital. (an hour drive)It was an emergency C-section that saved two lives, so that was a happy ending.

There is a cougar with young kits in the neighborhood(our version of neighboorhood is maybe eight families). Our other child is three years old, so a cougar is a real problem. I have to keep him not only in sight, but my right hand has to be free if the cougar shows.(pistol) It is depressing that some of our few visitors think I should scold the cougar into behaving. I believe that the forest needs predators, but I am not willing to have them in the yard at the same time as my kid.

We found a source for open pollinated fodder beet seed. That is realy good news.(sustainableseedco.com)

Easy?no. Well? yes

[arensb.livejournal.com]

I have a cat on my chest, loudly purring in my ear. That puts an upper limit on how much life can suck.

[fmh.livejournal.com]

S'nice to hear.